confiscated this time because they thought it was a security risk. but first, with eight days to go until the iowa caucuses, it's a virtual dead heat and that ee's bad news for the previously soaring newt gingrich. some are wondering if ron paul might actually take the hawkeye state. hi, joe, so just how close is it now? >> well, you said it, it's very close, a statistical dead heat among the top three presidential contenders right now. the des moines register said it all this morning asking the question, could ron paul win? which would be quite a surprise for a lot of people here, so ron paul 21%, followed by mitt romney at 20%. gingrich at 19%. ron paul, what's happening with him? very good organization in the state of iowa, there's some people also suggesting that because he's kind of flown under the radar for much of this contest, he hasn't been attacked as much as some of the others and perhaps that has something to do with it. newt gingrich, just two weeks ago flying high, still in the top tier, but certainly not as much as he was before. that he attributes to the fact that he was attacked a great deal in ads and otherwise and has brought his numbers back down to earth. another story you have to talk about is rick santorum, the former senator from pennsylvania who's spent so much time in this state but is not reflecting it in the polls, only 4% right now. the other thing is the undecideds. 12% of people undecided. a lot of volatility all over with the iowa caucuses as we can see. some people have said they have had more than one favorite and could change their minds again. but if you look at new hampshire, it's a very different story there. mitt romney seems to be doing just great, at least for him. the latest "boston globe" poll released on christmas day, shows him with 39% support, gingrich and paul tieded at 17%. all in all you look at this iowa, looking very tight at the moment, new hampshire not so much. back to you. >> iowa looking like a jump ball in that 39% a break through number for mitt romney because for so long he couldn't get above the 20s. he is trailing in the polls, but rick santorum may have bagged the big prize in a pheasant hunt today, it's not what he shot, but who he shot it with, influential iowa congressman steve king. let's bring in cnn senior congressional correspondent dana bash. dana, you spoke with him today, give us a sense of why king's endorsement is so important and what do you think it means. >> he is very prominent when it comes to the iowa republican community and he is somebody who is rock solid conservative credentials, in the past, four years ago, for example, he did endorse fred thompson and he ended up coming in third in iowa and he lived on to south carolina which nobody expected him to do before hand. he told me today, very interesting, that he had planned to endorse months ago, that was his plan, but like other iowa voters, he can't make up his mind, he just doesn't know which horse to back. he might not endorse anyone at all. newt gingrich says he thinks he has a really good economic plan, but steve king is a hard liner when it comes to immigration and he doesn't like newt gingrich's take on immigration. and ron paul? there's no love lost there, particularly due to his position on foreign policy. ron paul said the military should come home, that could go down in history as one of the greatest mistakes ever. very interesting is that he's weighing whether or not he should go for rick santorum or michele bachmann or someone else who's in single digits, not so much that they will do well this time, but his best bet is to position someone for four years from now. >> in iowa they could divide the vote among a lot of different conservative groups. and turning overseas now, tonight the world is waiting for important new signals about who's running the snow in one of the world's most secretive and dangerous countries. by now you have probably seen images of deceased north side reign kim jong-il lying in that glass case. well on wednesday, the nation will hold the official funeral ceremony. and around the world, officials will study who is standing where among the mourners and analyzing just what it all means. cnn's senior state department producer elise lavid is among those reading the tea leaves. thank you for joining us. do we know what official dell indications are invited into north korea and who's going to pay their respects? >> jessica, there are really no official delegations going to the funeral. there are going to be very few nonkoreans there. we assume that some chinese and russian officials that are close to north korea may be there, but south korea has decided not to send an official delegatiodelege only delegations that are coming are the widows of the former vice president kim dae jung. and the widow of the chairman of 00 d hyundai in south korea, who's trying to open up north korea to businesses and tourism. but the only nonkorean that may -- north korea really sealing off those borders and not letting anyone in for the actual funeral. >> are we going go see pictures of the funeral itself? >> i don't think it's going to be something that cnn will be able to cover live. i think the north koreans will choose some carefulliy orchestrated pictures to show kim juong-unjong-un, mourning h father. >> thanks so much. turning now to syria where there has been more bloodshed. we're going to show you now video, a youtube video said to be -- to investigate how committed the government is to ending it's brutal crackdown. and for more on both the violence and the official visit, let's check in on cairo. so what exactly are the arab league delegates looking for? >> hi, jessica. well the arab league observers who have gone into syria are hoping to get to the flash point areas in syria, to really try to put an end to the violence. according to the agreement they signed with the syrian government releases detainees and withdraws from the towns and villages across syria. but there's so much concern among the activists and opposition groups in syria, will these be given unfettered access? we have heard that the arab league delegates will be taken around syria by security forces. which begs the question, will they actually be able to go to the neighborhoods where -- if something isn't done seriously to stop this violence soon, they're really concerned that genocide will happen. >> the outside world is also very intrigued by the first lady of syria who's british born and people are starting to wonder whether she'll continue to stand by her husband in the wake of the brutal crackdown. what do you know about her? >> reporter: well, as i said, she was seen in the past decade, she was seen as a progressive, she was written about as though she were a champion of human rights and many side that she went around the country speaking to the poor trying to end some of the problems in that country. but experts say she does enjoy the lifestyle there, she enjoys the palace lifestyle and the fact that you haven't seen her in the past few months and she hasn't been written about doesn't mean that she's not standing by her husband. in fact it probably means the opposite. the experts that know her and have written about her believe she is standing by her man and s ev. and still ahead, watch the baby's hand and the president's mouth in this video. stick around to see what happens next. but coming up right away, details we have never known about newt gingrich's first divorce, they seem to contradict the story on his presidential campaign's website. e nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? 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[ horns honking ] not a talker. cool. i'm not either most times. passport. yes. passport. passing them to you. driver's license. yup. here you go. past five years' tax returns, high-school report cards, and i'm gonna need to see a receipt for that watch you're wearing. you should have really provided us with a checklist of documents we were going to need up front. who do you think i am, quicken loans? ♪ at quicken loans, we provide a checklist of the mortgage documents you'll need up front. it helps keep you in the know every step of the way. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. ♪ is fact that newt gingrich has been married three times is becoming an kruissue in this campaign. gingrich has always insisted it was his wife who asked to end the marriage. but court documents obtained by cnn tell otherwise. newt gingrich was the plaintiff meaning he filed the divorce papers and jackie gingrich asked the judge to reject her husband's then request. all this dredges up old questions about gingrich's character. let's get the fact in cnn reporter allen duke who broke the story. first of all, newt gingrich's daughter has defended her father saying that her mother initiated the divorce. these court documents you got tell a different story, so explain, what did you find? >> reporter: it was her column back in may that got me thinking about this. this covers about more than 30 years. i started my journalism career about the time he started his political career. so i am familiar wit. so hear her write and then later on the campaign website to hear her say that it was jackie gingrich who requested the divorce i thought was very unusual and i started asking people about it and i got lau laughter from them. they just could not believe that being from their hometown. jackie sue gingrich cushman, the daughter who was 13 at the time of the divorce is on the campaign trail speaking for her father along with her sister kathy, they're saying their father is great, he's 62 years old, he's matured,'s a grandfather now. they're saying the divorce wasn't what everybody thought it was. what caught me odd was that their mother was the one who requested the divorce. and the court papers that i found that week said differently. >> the rumor goes that newt gingrich delivered the papers to her as she was recovering from cancer surgery, and some say that's not a fair assessment that that's not how it went. why do you think jackie gingrich doesn't go and tell her story? >> i know the real story, i do believe, because i know very personally people who, someone who was in the hospital that day, no she wasn't on her death bed, she did have surgery, part of her cancer treatment the day before. it wasn't divorce papers that were being served. he had a stack of papers that were involving the settlement and was talking to her about it. and that's what upset her. he acknowledging a pretty good bit of that story. so he was this whole mythology that she was on her death bed, that's not true. well, the thing is, newt gingrich has had to confront that for 30 years now and he came out and is trying to challenge it and it's become quite a problem for him. but by saying that his wife requested the divorce was the shocker. >> all right, allen duke, thanks so much for your reporting. so what does all this have to do with gingrich's political record? it was 1988 when gingrich's marriages were put in the stoplight. rumors about gingrich's divorce from his first wife goon to surface and at the same time, gingrich was cheating on his second wife with the woman who is now his third wife, calista. dana bash, senior congressional correspondent at cnn and david chalean, washington bureau chief for the daily news. >> these are the days of our lives. >> it's like too much to take in. i want to ask both of you, does any of this really matter? apparently to the romney campaign it does, because here is an ad featuring anne romney. >> if you really want to know how a person will operate, look at how ni hathey have lived the life and i think that's why it's so important to understand the character of a person. to me that makes a huge difference. maybe for some voters it doesn't, but for me it makes a huge difference. >> is that directed at newt gingrich? >> you don't have to read too much between the lines, that's exactly what that is, there's no question about it. i was talking to stephen king in iowa today whether or not he thinks that this whole issue is going to hurt newt gingrich? he actually told me he would have said not that long ago that it wasn't going to hurt him, but as we get close to caucus day, he's hearing more and more that it is playing into voters consciousness. >> it's not just that ann romney ad, we see rick santorum closing with a strong family message. we see rick perry very much closing with a strong family message as well, talking got his marriage and how important fidelity to marriage is for him. these folks are talking to him because it does have some resonance, it's not a silver bullet issue, it's an issue that gets to the larger character assessment of someone. and what you see the romney campaign doing is not just depending on that anne romney ad, they're trying to paint him as not a fair dealer. i think the marriage is just a piece of that. >> that he's been dishonest, for example maybe on freddie mac claims and that he's been not told the full truth on a number of different categories. okay, you work -- you run the yahoo office, you co-sponsor a debate where newt gingrich was asked about fidelity and whether it matters. >> i said up front openly, i have made mistakes at times, i have had to go to god for forgiveness but i'm also a 65-year-old grandfather. >> when he answered that, what a beautiful answer, asked and answered and he did away with the question, his poll numbers were high then, now they have fallen. so a quick answer from both of you if you could, could he still win iowa david? >> i think he could win iowa. he's not the front-runner there now, if he doesn't win iowa, it's not because of the three marriages. >> when newt gingrich's campaign imploded, one of the differences with his campaign staff said we have to get out in front of this quote unquote baggage. and he said you're paying too much attention to that. and in a lot of ways he was right. and that's why he's going so well now. moving on, so if you were a middle east leader with not so great reputation, what country would you pick if you wanted to get away from tv cameras and questions? the answer may surprise you. you'll also want to stick around for our moment you missed. president obama is about to get upstaged by a very cute baby. welcome back. here's lisa sylvester with the latest news you need to know right now. >> the newspaper and tv stations in jacksonville, florida report no survivors in today's crash of a medical helicopter. the jacksonville news says the three people aboard were on their way to pick up a donated heart for jacksonville's mayo clin clinic at a pick up point. today police in grapevine texas revealed a gunman who killed six people before taking his own life wore a santa claus suit before he started shooting at a family gathering to open christmas presents. authorities tried to unravel the circumstances that led up to the christmas day massacre, the identities of the victims have not been released. and finally a massachusetts woman says tsa airport screeners actually, they actually confiscated her cupcakes claiming that they were a security risk. now in their defense, these were special cup takes packaged in jars, you see them there, the agent said the gel like froster could be mashed into the shape of a container. he also said the cupcakes looked good but kept them anyway because they were a security threat, i'm sure. >> they said also that they looked good, i'm wondering how did they taste? >> have you ever had anything confiscated by the faa? >> i had some nail clippers confiscated. >> i once got on an airplane and the flight attendant took my starbucks coffee because she said it constituted a third carry on. she said i could give them either my computer or my coffee. >> and it's not the same coffee. we noticed something in life magazine we just can't resist, they have compiled some of this year's best quotations but they're leaving the rest of us to guess who said it. coming up, was it abe simpson, the grandpa on the television show "the simpsons" who said grandchildren now don't write a thank you for the christmas presents, they're walking on their pants with the cap on backwards listening to the enema man and snoopy snoopy pop dog and they don't like them. we'll, we'll have the answer ahead. ♪ i would have appreciated a proactive update on the status of our relationship. who do you think i am, tim? quicken loans? at quicken loans, we provide you with proactive updates on the status of your home loan. and our innovative online tools ensure that you're always in the loop. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you want a firm bed you can lie on one of those, if you want a soft bed you can lie on one of those." we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. welcome to the sleep number year-end closeout event. not just ordinary beds on sale, but the bed that can change your life on sale. the sleep number bed. it calibrates precisely to your body and your comfort zone. now you can feel what happens as we raise your sleep number setting and allow the bed to contour to your individual shape. oh yeah. it's really shaping to my body. save up to $800 on selected 2011 bed sets. and now through saturday only, receive 24-month financing. you can adjust it however you want so you don't have to worry about buying the wrong mattress. once they get our bed, they're like, "why didn't i do this sooner?" hurry this week to the year-end closeout event and save on the bed that can change your life. the sleep number bed. only at the sleep number store, where queen bed sets now start at just $899. will be giving away passafree copies of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. in this half hour of "john king usa" you'll find how where one of the most notorious leaders in the middle east wants to go in order to avoid tv cameras. watch closely, president obama is about to goat upstaged by that little baby he's holding. and in about 15 minutes, a guilty pleasure, courtesy of life magazine, see if you can guess whether moammar gadhafi or charlie sheen was the author. a man was shot and paralyzed in a homecoming party in his honor. >> it really is such a tragedy, christopher sullivan served his country with honor and distinction in afghanistan and won the purple heart due to his heroic actions there and then he comes back and at his own homecoming party this happens, shot and paralyzed allegedly because of an argument over football. it was a really tough conversation to have with her and she gave us an update on how her son's doing right now. >> christopher's hanging in. he is on life support. but that's only to sedate him so he won't move or get hurt. little by little, they'll give him -- let him breathe on his own, but it's going to take some time. >> this family quite simply is in the middle of a nightmare right now. >> i can imagine. do they know anything about the suspected shooter? >> here's what local police are saying, his name is ruben ray horado, a 19-year-old. this comes actually in an argument over football with christopher's younger brother, his baby brother, they were having this disagreement and allegedly christopher intervened to calm things down and that's when this alleged shooter pulled out a gun and shot christopher twice and fred the seen. he is considered armed and dangerous. >> what a devastating story. few. a man nobody seems to want would lik